Tom Criose was on the run in 'Mission: Impossible - Ghose Protocol.' / Paramount Pictures

by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

by Scott Bowles, USA TODAY

Tom Cruise's mission, which he has chosen to accept: return to the box office stratosphere.

Seventeen years after signing up for the first Mission: Impossible, Cruise has signed on to his fifth installment of the hit franchise.

While few details have been released, Deadline.com reports that Christopher McQuarrie, who wrote and directed Cruise in last year's Jack Reacher, is among the top candidates to helm the latest saga of IMF agent Ethan Hunt.

Cruise has found solid box-office returns on his action films of late, though nothing that touches Mission: Impossible's appeal.

Last month's sci-fi thriller Oblivion has done $75.8 million to date, while Reacher pulled in $80 million. But he's had no non-Mission film cross the $100 million mark since 2004'sCollateral, which did $101 million.

Impossible, meanwhile, remains a juggernaut. The most recent installment, 2011's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, did $209 million, and the franchise has done more than $1 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.